This strawberry compote is my most-requested filling for cakes! Pairing perfectly with a vanilla cake, this strawberry compote is easy to make, stable enough for a cake filling, and adds a sweet & tangy strawberry delight.
An amazing strawberry compote is something every dessert-enthusiast should keep in their toolkit, since it is such a wildly popular choice for cakes and is worthy of being eaten by the spoonful. This strawberry compote recipe is one of the first recipes I’ve worked on nailing down and is one I reach for time and time again.
The process is simple: add your ingredients to a saucepan (excluding the cornstarch slurry), heat until most of the water has evaporated, add your cornstarch slurry as your compote continues to simmer in order to thicken it up some more, and you’re done! Once your compote cools, you have a delicious filling to use between your cake layers, on top of brownies, with ice cream, on top of French toast.. you get the idea.
What’s great about this compote recipe is that it’s flexible to your tastes, such as:
- You can easily adjust the sugar for your sweetness preference / depending on the ripeness of your berries
- You can blend the strawberries for a smooth filling or leave them in roughly chopped pieces for amazing strawberry texture
- You can add or substitute any variety of berries (blackberries and raspberries go great with strawberry)
- Decrease the amount of cornstarch if you are looking for a runnier consistency (think: a topping for ice cream!)
- This works great with frozen berries as well — you’ll just need to simmer a little longer due to extra water content
- Try mixing it with homemade whipped cream for a mouth-watering strawberry mousse! Yum!
This is a beginner-friendly filling, so don’t be afraid to try it out and adjust to your liking.
Strawberry Compote Filling for Cakes
Equipment
- heavy-bottom sauce pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb. of washed strawberries can also use frozen strawberries or any other type of berry
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar to taste – may need to add more or less depending on ripeness of your strawberries and personal preference
- Zest of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed in 3 tablespoons water in small, separate bowl
Instructions
STRAWBERRY COMPOTE INSTRUCTIONS
- Add strawberries, sugar, and lemon zest into your saucepan
- Mash strawberries (optional) – you can blend your strawberries or mash them with a fork, depending on how smooth or chunky you want your strawberry compote. (I like to keep mine a little chunky, so I lightly mash with a fork.)
- Heat saucepan on medium to allow to come to a simmer. Stirring occassionally and scraping down sides, continue to cook until the bubbling slows down and most of the water has evaporated (it does not have to be completely dry).
- Mix in the cornstarch-water slurry.
- Heat until cornstarch has thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer compote to a heat-safe bowl and let cool. Once warm (not hot), refrigerate until completely cold before using compote between your cake layers. Note the cornstarch will continue to thicken as it cools.
USING COMPOTE AS A CAKE FILLING INSTRUCTIONS
- Pipe a dam of buttercream around the edge of each cake layer.
- Add the compote to the center of the cake and gently spread towards the buttercream dam. Do NOT overfill filling between each layer — you can always offer extra filling on the side at serving time rather than overfill the cake to avoid risk of leaking or destabilizing the cake.
- Make sure the compote is spread evenly flat (get eye-level to check) before adding your next cake layer.
Notes
- The cook time will depend on whether you are using fresh berries vs frozen, as well as what type of berries you are using since this impacts the water content.
